


Wolfsbane

by iheartloki



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wrestling, Aspen has an ex, Aspen is forced to join the Shield, Dean puts him in his place, Eventual Smut, F/M, Language, NXT from the beginning, Raw - Freeform, Slow Build, Smut, Violence, Wrestling is real, no one touches his women, smackdown
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2018-02-21
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:55:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12334047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iheartloki/pseuds/iheartloki
Summary: For a wolf, Wolfsbane can mean weakness or poison. But it can also mean strength for others. For Dean Ambrose and Rikki Piper Calaway aka Aspen Wolf, that's what happened to them. Apart they were weak but together they were Unstoppable. So in order for them to be Unstoppable, they must first pass the test of being forced to work together. Easier said than done.





	1. Living A Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moxbrose (rowancas)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowancas/gifts).



> I want to thank moxbrose (rowancas) for helping me and encouraging me to post my very first Wrestling story with Dean Ambrose. Thanks Rach. 
> 
> This is my very first WWE story so please be gentle. No Flames please. Please Read, Comment and send kudos. With that said, Let the show begin.

A Summer of Dreams, that's what she was calling it. Some people would throw up a stink; say it was unfair that all the hard work they had done and there were still being sent down. What punishment did they incur that would cause them to be set back in their career?

Most would think that, but not Rikki. She knew that she had done everything right, and had set the tone for future up and coming superstars, she knew with all her heart, that everything had a reason.

Her God-Father Triple H and the very man that had been a grandfather to her from the time she started travelling on the road with her father -Vincent Kennedy McMahon- had tried everything to get her on the Main Roster, but they had to many Superstars there right now. And Rikki understood that.

That was one of the many reasons that shocked both H and Vince, that she understood. Normally when they told a Superstar - or the odd case a Diva - that they were being sent back down, there was cursing and swearing, saying “The WWE sucks, the Indy's had better job opportunity's”... but Rikki never did.

She rolled with the punches and took everything in stride. She told them that if she was meant to be on the Raw with the Main Roster, it would happen when the time was right and not before.

Rikki was born Rikki Piper Calaway on August 12, 1989 in Houston,Texas. Her birth was different from her younger siblings. Rikki was conceived in a one-night stand that her father had on the road. Not many kids could say they were the Undertaker's or Dead Man's daughter. Rikki relished it, especially when they called her the Dark Princess growing up...

As she got ready for her match that night, she decided on her: a red and black racerback Kane tank top, black jeans and red and black high-top sneakers. She had a quick shower and began to change. As she stripped off her towel and dried herself off, she pulled on her black sports bra and matching pair of boy shorts.

She took a glance at herself in the tall mirror that was attached to her dressing table. The years of training had transformed her body into well-defined muscles and naturally placed curves. She may have had an athletic body but she still had curves of a woman.

Not the she was vain by any stretch. Before she hit puberty, she was skinny as a stick and flat chested. But when she turned 14, her body shaped into natural curves that would make a man want to hang on to and her flat chest had blossomed into a 38dd.

She slid on her black jeans that made her ass pop, but that was her opinion. She then pulled on her red and black racerback Kane tank top and then stepped into her red and black high-top sneakers. She checked herself in the mirror as she thought about how she got there.

_In 2006, Rikki made her Indy debut. At 17, Taker wanted Rikki to go straight to Louisville, but Rikki put her foot down. She was going to do this her way, which meant cutting her teeth down in the Indy's for a while. She wanted to earn her contract to the WWE by her talent and own merits, not because it was handed to her. Taker was never more proud of her._

_So he agreed. 4 long years and one near career ending injury later, she got the phone call personally in 2010 from her Uncle H asking her to come to Stanford, Ct. Walking through the doors of WWE Headquarters, Rikki had to will her heart to start beating again._

_It wasn't until she was escorted to the conference room and saw her Dad and Mom, Uncle Kane, her Pops, her Nana Linda, her Uncle Shane, her Aunt Stephanie and Uncle H, that she realised that this was real. H had her signed the contract and then congratulated her and welcomed her to the WWE family._

_The shock wore off to relief then shock again which caused her to break down and her legs give out from underneath her. She had did it, and she had earned her contract herself without the help of her extended family. It was in that moment that she found herself engulfed in a set big strong arms, when the hit of Armarni colon wafted into her nostrils. She laid her head on the well-defined chest of her Pops- Vincent Kennedy McMahon, and balled._

////////

3 years being on NXT and training at the Performance Centre had humbled Rikki in more ways then one. Especially when her Uncle Bill aka Bill Demott, told her that she needed to improve on some of her moves because her ground work wasn't going to cut it. That's when Uncle Dusty and Uncle H came in.

They brought her to Dusty's office and had a chat. They agreed with Bill that Rikki's ground work left a lot to be desired; if she continued with just the straight up ground work, she would lose every time and not get the wins she would need. They showed her video of her in the Indy's when she was busting out some High Flying moves on the rare occasion.

Uncle H thought it would good to build Rikki as a High Flyer and Uncle Dusty whole heartily agreed, even Rikki as well. She had dreams that she wanted to accomplish, and she wasn't going to do that with just powerhouse moves alone. With her now a High Flyer, she could still use powerhouse moves with her move set but it would combined with her natural High Flying ability.

The other thing that Uncle H and Uncle Dusty changed, was what group Rikki would wrestle in. When Jane and Mark signed her, they told her she would be a good fit for the Diva's Division. Rikki didn't think so, but she wasn't going to be the one to tell both Jane and Mark that.

////////

“ _I know Jane and Mark said that the Diva's Division needs you, but sweetheart, we both know that all that potential will be wasted. Besides, when you were in the Indy's you wrestled more with the guys then you did the girls.” Hunter explained._

“ _So what do I do Uncle H? Jane and Mark are technically my bosses, so what they say, kind of goes.” Rikki said looking down, feeling like one of her dreams flying out the window. “I would give anything to wrestle in the Men's Division and bring some of the Attitude Era back, but girls aren't aloud to wrestle with guys any more, let alone me join their division.”_

“ _Who said you couldn't Baby Girl? I've seen you, and you're damn good. Hell you're better than some of Diva's who did wrestle in the Men's Division back in the Attitude Era. You have the talent. You could and will make history,” Hunter exclaimed passionately._

“ _Damn! You make it sound like it's almost within my reach. I can picture Pops saying that. But that's a pipe dream, its never going to happen.” Rikki sighed._

“ _But it's your dream Baby Girl. It's the same dream you had since you were 4 years old when we asked you what you wanted to do and you said wrestle. We asked you if preferred the Women's Division and you said no, you were going to take the Men's Division by storm when you got bigger.” Hunter said with a proud smile._

“ _But it's not going to happen Uncle H...” Rikki was cut off when Hunter cleared his throat._

“ _Your Aunt Stephanie and I have been talking at length with your Pops and he's agreed to go with a trial run. You my little Dark Princess, are going to be our guinea pig. Starting in NXT, your going to join the Men's Roster. It will be a trial run here and up in the Main Roster when you debut on Raw. And if it does well and you are well received in both places, then you will set the tone for all the little girls to follow their dreams in either wrestling in the Diva's Division or the Men's.” Hunter explained with a huge cheeky grin._

_Rikki almost forgot to breath. Could this be it? Was she this close? She couldn't believe it. If Pops agreed to this, then they must have saw something. A talent that had been lacking for a couple of years now. Pops had an ability of seeing talent where no one else could._

" _He agreed? I have permission to join the Men's Division? Even if it's a trial run?” Rikki asked, shaking her head in disbelief._

“ _He did baby. He wants to see if you will prove yourself and if this move will be well received by the fans. But your nearly there sweetheart.” Hunter stated. Rikki let out the biggest squeal in the world and leapt into her Uncle H's arms for the biggest hug._

 

~ **NXT Wednesday, September 26, 2012** ~

Rikki smiled at the memory. She had passed her trial run both in NXT and on the Main Roster with flying colours. The reception she received from the WWE fans both from NXT and Raw was amazing and it actually shut both Jane and Mark up, because they were so sure that she was going to fail and stay in the Diva's Division.

Never, ever tell Rikki she couldn't do something with her career, by telling her she can't, that made her go out and prove you wrong every time!

She pulled herself out of her memories and into the present. Standing in her dressing room, backstage of NXT, Rikki began to focus on her match that she had tonight. The memories of the past could wait for tomorrow but they would still be in the past.

Rikki made a quick note to see Charlotte and have her do her nails with quick drying nail polish, red with black tips to match her outfit. She decided to let the makeup and hair dressing team for NXT, do her hair and makeup.

She grabbed the colours of nail polish that she wanted Charlotte to do, as she turned towards her door to leave, there was a knock. Rikki was confused. Who would want to pay her a visit this close to Show time?

She tentatively opened the door and looked out in the hall. She sighed with relief when she saw her Uncle Dusty on the other side. She swung door open wide and gave Dusty a huge grin.

“Hi Uncle Dusty.” Rikki said with a wide grin.

“Evenin' Rikki Honey.” Dusty said as he returned grin and let out a whistle. “My, my. Don't you look beautiful for the show tonight. My Little Princess is growin' up and makin' her way in the world. You and Charlotte need to stop gettin' so dang beautiful. Your fathers and I will have to beat the boys off with kendo sticks!”

“Oh Uncle Dusty, you know you are mine and Charlotte's number one man.” Rikki teased.

“Sweetheart, flattery will get you anywhere, especially in this company. Speaking of, I have some good news for you Princess. I just got off the phone with Hunter and they have spot open on the Main Roster. Since you proved yourself so well these past 3 years and over the summer, you're goin' to the Main Roster Baby.” Dusty exclaimed with a huge grin.

Rikki was in shock for a couple of minutes before she let out the biggest squeal known to man, did a happy dance and leapt into Dusty's waiting arms.

“I DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT!” Rikki yelled as she jumped up and down.

“You did Baby and I'm so proud of you. Come by my office after your Main Event match and we'll signed your contract.” Dusty smiled as he gave Rikki's right shoulder a squeeze and started to walk away but quickly turned back around when he remembered something.

“Oh Baby, there's been a slight change in your match in the Main Event tonight. Corey Graves didn't clear concussion protocol and is out. So your replacement is Kassius Ohno. Give him hell Baby Girl.” Dusty exclaimed.

“I'll personally send him there Uncle Dusty.” Rikki said with a grin and gave her uncle a quick thumbs up.

 

////////////////

 

An hour later, Rikki set patiently on the bench in the Diva's Locker Room as Charlotte calmly did her nails the way she wanted them. Before she went to meet Charlotte, she had made quick a stop with Tanya and Bridget- the NXT hair dresser and makeup artist.

The two girls worked in tandem, while Tanya worked to get Rikki's Natural dark red hair into ringlets that hung down her back, Bridget concentrated on her bright sea green eyes having that perfect smokey eye look. When she was done, she thanked both Tanya and Bridget for all their hard work and then made her way to the Diva's locker room.

Which where she found herself now. Seating patiently on the bench as she watched Charlotte work delicately on her nails. Making sure they were perfect. Because there no way in hell Charlotte was sending Rikki out in her final match on NXT, with less the perfect nails. She was a little bit like Nikki that way.

It was one of the reasons that Rikki was so excited to up to the Main Roster. She would be able to see Brie and Nikki every day and not just the Bella Twins but Nattie, Naomi, her God-Brothers Jimmy and Jey, Randy, Cody and so many others. You could always tell who were children of the Superstars because they seemed to gravitate towards each other.

When Brie and Nikki debuted 2007, Rikki was travelling with WWE off and on, but during that time they formed a lasting friendship that everyone started calling Rikki the long lost Bella Triplet. Even her own father called her a Bella Triplet. So the name stuck. And their bond was unshakable.

“Ok Rikki, your all done.” Charlotte Flair said as she finished one last swipe of Rikki's nail.

She got up from the bench and walked to a dressing table mirror to observe her friends work. Rikki grinned. They were beautifully done. They looked like they were professionally done, that's how good Charlotte was. But then again, Charlotte was always this good with nails and hair and make up. Rikki always told that she could make a living out this but she would always shake her head and say no, she preferred wrestling.

“You out did yourself as always Char.” Rikki praised. “I couldn't have done them any better if I had done them myself.”

“That's true. Many times I have to correct what you done because your a little lop sided.” Charlotte said with a teasing grin which caused Rikki to stick her tongue out at her. They looked at each for a minute before bursting out laughing.

“Oh that's just what we needed.” Rikki grinned as she threw her arms around Charlotte's neck and gave a hug. A hug that 5 minutes because neither wanted to let go.

“It's not going to be the same around here with you gone Rikki. I need my partner in crime! Nobody is going to be able to take your place, with you up on the Main Roster. It won't be the same at all.” Charlotte said mournfully.

“Yes it will Char, yes it will. Look before you know it, time will have flown by you will be up on the Main Roster with me. But until then, you'll have things here to occupy your time.” Rikki said with reassuring smile.

“Like what?” Charlotte asked. Curiosity getting the better of her.

“Well for starters: I need someone to drive Seth up the wall, that poor boy is always looking over his shoulder. I can't imagine why, but it always seems to be when I'm around. I need you to put the fear of God into him for me,” Rikki began with a cheeky grin that cause Charlotte to burst out laughing.

“There's also Dean Ambrose, but that man isn't afraid of nothin'. Just tell him that he lost his Piper when he had a chance. If you keep telling him long enough, he will most definitely start to channel is inner Moxley. Which is good because then he'll know what it's like to pine.” Rikki said seriously. Charlotte gave her shoulder a squeeze and a knowing grin. “Uncle Dusty said there was going to be great things coming your way, so you see, you'll be too busy to miss me.”

“I guess you're right. But I know certain Lunatic who going to miss you,” Charlotte teased with a cheeky grin causing Rikki to grin back at her and shake her head.

“Your way off base Char. That man won't miss me. With so many Ring Rats and groupies he won't know what to do with himself. Everyone knows by now, that Dean Ambrose is a Love Her and Leave Her type of guy.” Rikki said as she looked Charlotte in the eye and sighed, crossing her arms.

“You could never fool me Rik and you couldn't hide anything from me either. Everybody here knows that when the two of you think the other isn't looking, you will stare at each other with such intensity that you almost want to devour the other. It's kind of sweet and disturbing at the same time.” Charlotte teased.

“I do not! Charlotte that's completely absurd. I would never stare at that muscle-bounded, dirty-blonde, cobalt blue-eyed male, that is a cross between Ares and Adonis, and if..” Rikki stopped and blushed.

Charlotte burst out laughing. “Oh Sweet Pea, you are so digging yourself into a hole. It's ok to have a crush. Or have feelings for Dean that you thought had went away.”

“But those feelings _should_ have gone away Char, because they are one-sided. I have them but he doesn't, he made that perfectly clear 5 years ago.” Rikki stated as she glared at the wall.

Charlotte sighed, there was no way to say this delicately. Either way could set Rikki's temper off. “Sweetie, did you ever stop to consider that maybe he felt he wasn't good enough for you. That he thought you could do so much better?”

Rikki turned and looked at Charlotte with a sigh of her own as looked back down at the ground. “I did. I did consider that. Then I found out that he took a Ring Rat Bitch that had come on to him at the bar he was at, back to his motel room. Of course my room was right beside Dean's soo..I heard them 'All, Night, Long'. Take from that what you will.”

“Oh.” Charlotte said with another sigh. “But maybe he's grown up since then, how do you know that he hasn't change Rikki?”

“I don't. But if he has grown up and if he wanted a chance, he would be at my door asking me for one but I don't see that happening anytime soon.” Rikki said. She gave herself a minute to collect herself then reach out and gave Charlotte a hug.

“Thanks again for the nail job Char. Give the girls here hell when I'm gone. I love you.” Rikki said as she walked out of Charlotte's dressing room made her way down the hall toward Gorilla.

////////////

Half way towards Gorilla, it gave Rikki a chance to think over what Charlotte had said. Maybe, just maybe, Dean had grown up over the 5 years that they knew each other. But if she were honest with herself, she had changed too.

She was just coming out a relationship that she had no business been in the first place. Logan Connors. There was a name she wished she could swipe from her mind and forget ever existed. Their relationship was doomed from the start. But she wouldn't listen. And it had taken him to hit her for her to realise what a fool she was.

Rikki had ended it. Walked away on her own two feet, all the while Logan was screaming at her. That she was cunt. A waste of space and that nobody walked away from Logan Connors. She told him on no certain terms that she just did. Big mistake on her part. Letting her temper get the better of her.

Logan at that point, had saw red and took swing at her. She hit back and told him that if he knew what was good for him, he would disappear before her family found out what he did. She suffered a black eye for her trouble but it was worth it, or so she thought.

Now he had taken to stalking her. Rikki had her cell phone and number changed 4 times in the past 6 months. He just would not leave her be. Her self proclaimed stalker plagued thoughts.

“Dark thoughts Darlin',” A voice came from her right side. She turned head sharply and spotted the very man Charlotte and her were discussing a few minutes ago. Dean Ambrose. The man could make leaning with his arms crossed his well defined chest, his back flat and his leg bent with his foot laying flat on the wall, look like art. Cobalt blue eyes, watched every move she made.

“Now why would gorgeous woman, like yourself, have to be so worried about? Did one of your many admires not get what he asked for?” Dean teased. “Little Wolf, I always said that would backfire on you.”

“You wish I had admires Ambrose, unlike you with your Precious Ring Rat's, I know how to say no.” Rikki said with a cheeky grin. Her sea green eyes twinkling.

“You better wish that they're just that, 'Admires'. Because if I had my way, they wouldn't get within 5 feet of my Wolf.” Dean growled as he stalked towards her, nose to nose.

“Since when have I _ever_ been your Wolf?” Rikki asked, shocked.

“Since always Little Wolf. I needed time and so do you, to realise that. But you always were, always have and always will be my Little sea green-eyed Wolf.” Dean stated, his knuckles gently brushing against her cheek.

“When the time is right, mark my words Darlin', I will come for my little Wolf.” Dean said as she walked away.

Rikki couldn't have been more shocked. But as she thought on his words, she couldn't help but grin widely. This was going to be a wild ride if he were serious? Maybe Logan would back off, if he saw Dean. She couldn't dwell on that now, she had work to do.

 

~ **NXT- Main Event, Wednesday September 26, 2012** ~

 

The Main Event seemed to sneak up on Rikki when she least expected it. She busied herself by keeping herself loose. She jogged in place, rolled her arms back and forth, stretched her legs, even went so far as to do push ups. Anything to keep herself limber.

She was no stranger to battling Kassius Ohno. She knew him from his time in the Indy's as Chris Hero. They had some battles then to in CZW and ROH. But she had beaten him then and she could beat him here to. A point of reference being their gauntlet match that lasted 45 minutes.

Just then the ring bell sounded on the monitor,

“ _The match is set for one fall and can be won by either pinfall or submission. Introducing first from Dayton, Ohio, weighing in at 270lbs, Kassius OHNO!”_

Rikki took that as her cue as she heard Kassius' music start. She made her way to the curtain, walked the stairs towards the stage and waited for her cue to greet her fans.

“ _And his opponent, weighing in at 118lbs, from Houston, Texas, Aspen Wolf!”_

All of sudden the strains to Rob Zombie's Dragula could be heard through out the arena and the first thing she heard as she burst through the curtain and onto the stage, was howling. She grinned, cupped her hands over mouth and let out a loud howl of her own.

She tagged fans hands as she made her way down the ring. All the while noting the death glare Kassius sent her way with a nod of respect which she returned. She leapt up and grabbed the top rope and vaulted herself over in to the ring. She did her poses on the turnbuckles for the fans, then jumped down and jogged in place, then turned and waited for the referee to start the match.

“ _This has been the match I wanted to see all night.” Tom Philips said with a huge grin. “There has been no love loss been these two.”_

They stared at each other as the referee went about checking them and asking if they were ready. In perfect unison, Rikki and Kassius said they were ready, never taking their eyes off the other.

“ _Thomas we are in a prestigious moment here, anything can happen. We might be witnessing the last meeting between these two individuals. Especially when one is looking more beautiful every time I see her. Aspen looks like a fiery goddess this evening.” William Regal said , giving appreciation where appreciation was due._

As if she heard him, Rikki turned towards the commentary booth and pointed to Regal in acknowledgement.

“ _I think she heard you Regal.” Tom said._

She turned back to matter at hand as she and Kassius began to circle one another, trying to get the upper hand. It was in that moment, that Rikki and Kassius locked up. But he was 6 inches taller then her 5'5”, he got the upper hand to put her in a head lock.

But she used his 6'4”, 270lbs frame to her advantage and made a quick escape. She ducked and dodged Kassius for a good five minutes until Kassius had just about enough. He growled in frustration and grabbed Rikki's arm and put it in armlock.

Rikki grunted and tried to find someway to use Kassius' size against him. At this point, Kassius would have the upper hand. This was the type of situation that she really didn't want to be in so early in the match. Especially with a man that out weighed by over 200lbs.

“ _Man, Ohno has that classic armlock locked in doesn't he.” Tom said, wincing in sympathetic pain every time Kassius twisted Aspen's arm a little more._

“ _He suburb at it. Brilliantly done. Now Aspen as to go on the counter attack. But with the way the momentum shifted, I don't think our dear Aspen can do it Thomas. At this point, my bet is that Kassius has this match.” Regal said as he to winced at Aspen's arm being twisted._

“ _Don't counter her out just yet Regal.” Tom exclaimed._

15 minutes for Rikki turned into an hour. That was until she came up with an idea. She decided to use a trick out of Brett and Owen Hart's book. She bent down into a crouch and began somersault to the right. She then spun somersaulted the other way on Kassius' right side then turn and did same trick the other way until she broke free of hold and reversed it.

“ _Wow, who knew Aspen could pull an Owen Hart?” Tom asked with a huge grin._

“ _Impressive as always! This young woman has a certain class about her that you simply can't teach. I think Owen would have been proud.” Regal said._

Kassius growled. He easily escaped the armlock and turned faced Rikki again. But she wasn't going to let him have the upper hand again, so she made a run at the ropes. She run behind him, bounced off the ropes, gaining momentum, running full speed and ducking when Kassius to a swipe at her.

She then bounced off the ropes that were directly in front him, leapt into the air, front flipped, wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down with he falling momentum.

“ _Oh my goodness gracious! That was exquisite. Beautifully done. We have just witnessed her father in motion Thomas and it was glorious.” Regal praised._

Rikki staggered to her feet and aloud herself a moment to breath, but Kassius had other ideas. As she moved herself in front of ropes, Kassius attacked. He charge at her with a yell and went to hit with Hero Kick but Rikki had ware withal to move last minute and pulled the ropes down. The action sent Kassius' momentum over the top and onto the ground.

And just like was gong to do with her, Rikki refused to let Kassius rest. She rushed the ropes, bounced off, ran straight across the ring, leapt in the air and flipping into a Flipping Suicide Dive causing Kassius to somewhat catch her as she hit him and fall to the ground stunned.

“ _Oh My God! Regal, Aspen just hit Kassius with Thunderstruck. I feel it, I feel it. The momentum looks like it's shifting.” Tom said excitedly._

“ _Beautifully executed. Aspen as an inner strength that is surpassed by none. She may be small but she has her father's in ring genius and Rey Mysterio's heart.” Regal said with pride._

Rikki reached down and grabbed him by the hair and all but threw back into the ring. As she climbed through the second rope, Kassius recovered some what and went on the attack again. He gave her a series of forearm smashed to the face and stepped back.

Before Rikki knew what was happening, Kassius hooked his arms around her head and started to lift her off the ground for his Hero DDT. But at the last moment, Rikki started to fight back. She escaped his hold, swung herself in his arms, wrapped her hands around the back of his head, did the splits in the air and brought Kassius down into a sitout Facebuster.

" _Air Wolf, Air Wolf! Aspen just hit Air Wolf!” Tom said excitedly, as he jumped up and watched._

“ _Momentum is in young Aspen's favour. But can she capitalise.” Regal explained._

“ _Oh My God! Regal she's going for it.” Tom exclaimed._

Rikki slipped through the second rope and made her way to the top turnbuckle. She climbed to the top and got herself situated. She raised her hands into the I love You sign and leapt into the air.

She corkscrewed her body around twice then manoeuvred herself into a crouch midair and the rotated in the splash position. She felt her body hit Kassius' and then got up for the cover sitting on him while lifting his leg.

" _Harlequinade! And she's got it Regal.” Tom yelled._

“ _1, 2, 3! Ring the bell!”_ The referee yelled.

Rikki rolled off Kassius and sat down in the middle of the ring as a deafening roar rang through the crowd. She stood up slowly, trying to catch her breath. Then she felt the referee grab her wrist.

“ _And here's you winner via pinfall, Aspen Wolf!”_

The roar grew louder as her wrist was raised in the air for victory. She was over come with emotion. She knew she was popular but she didn't think this much.

“THANK YOU ASPEN!” THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD. “THANK YOU ASEPEN!” The crowd yelled, clapping their hands in time.

Rikki turned to the crowd and in pure Trish Stratus fashion, waved her hands in the air and took her bow in the middle of the ring. As she stood, she wiped the tears that formed in her sea green eyes. She pointed towards the crowd and clapped for them as well.

This may be her last match on NXT, but this moment right here, would go with her and stick with her while she was on the Main Roster. She was going to save this match in her momentum column. This was what she was born to do.

She looked up towards the stage for split second and saw Dean standing there. They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, and then Dean blew Rikki a quick kiss and nodded his head in respect.

She was shocked at first and then blew one of her own back at him. Rikki had a funny feeling that there were going to be more situations like this in the future. Rikki had to grin, it was going to be a hell of a ride for them both.


	2. Chapter 2: Making A Statement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thanks to Rach aka moxbrose(rowancas), who keeps me honest!

A deep breath... and release! She could finally relax! For four glorious days, Rikki felt a contentment that she couldn't have gotten on the road. It was a sense of family. Being home in Houston, on her dad's ranch, put everything into perspective. Even a heart to heart conversation with her mom. 

 

/////////// 

 

“ _So I hear from a reliable source that some_ ** _interesting_** _things have been happening at NXT on a personal level.” Michelle said with a grin._  

  _ _There were many things that get could by Michelle McCool-Calaway, but for the woman she loved and adopted as her oldest daughter, her love life was not one of them. Michelle knew not to push Rikki until she was ready to come her._  _

 “ _How, what..” Rikki sputtered. “How could you possibly know that Mom? Who told you!?”_  

  _All Michelle did was give her a look and it was look that Rikki knew all she needed to know. But it was finding out who told her mother in the first place, that was going to be the tricky part._  

 “ _It was Charlotte wasn't!? She blabbed right?” Rikki said with a reluctant sigh._  

 “ _Nope!” Michelle chuckled. “You can blame all of this on Tyson.”_  

  _Rikki rolled her eyes. “Unbelievable. Is nothing a secret anymore? I mean, one little conversation between Dean and I and bunlunga, it's up. I truly didn't expect Tyson to be as gossipy as a woman.”_  

  _She never realised that she and Dean had been watched that night. It didn't matter to her that they flirted, because it was just playful. Rikki still didn't know what Dean's feelings for her were._  

 “ _Sweetheart, what has you thinking so hard?” Michelle asked as she gently brushed Rikki's hair out of her face._  

 “ _I'm so confused mom,” Rikki sighed. “I don't know if Dean has grown up and was flirting with me backstage because he wanted to, or if he was still being a player.”_  

 “ _Baby, you can't keep comparing every guy to Logan; it's just going to hurt you in the end. You need to have a serious conversation with Dean the next time you see him. Ask him what his feelings for you are and tell him what Logan did to you.”_  

  _Rikki released a breath that she didn't know she holding. “You make it sound so easy mom. There can be a slight chance that Dean doesn't want to talk.”_  

 “ _I never said love was easy, baby,” Michelle said with a knowing smile. “If it were, we wouldn't have to fight for it. Just talk to him; what do you have to lose?”_  

 

///////////// 

 

She pulled out of the memory with a grin. Who knew that her mom would be so smart!? But it couldn't be as simple as that, could it? Would Dean listen to her? Plus, if she _did_ tell him, could she really keep him from killing Logan? And could she convince him that her feelings for him were still strong - if not stronger than ever - after 5 years?! 

 She would have to table that discussion and put it on the back burner. For now she would have to concentrate on tonight and her debut. 

 San Antonio! The very place had been a second home to her besides Houston. And it wasn't that far from her hometown. She could remember times in her childhood where she was always in San Antonio visiting her Uncle Shawn. No pressure! 

 The drive to the arena seemed to go on forever for Rikki's taste but in reality, it was short. She pulled into AT&T Centre parking garage and made her way through the loading dock towards the backstage area. As she made her way past the various equipment techs back-stage towards the Diva's locker room, she spotted something that put a grin on her face. 

 “Wow, three men leaning in real close together, are you spreading secrets or should I be REALLY worried that you three just set off the gaydar across the Eastern seaboard?” Rikki teased with a cheeky grin as she watched the three men in question let out squeals of surprise. 

 Rikki kept a straight face that only lasted for about 30 seconds before she burst out laughing. “Oh My God! That didn't sound gay at all! Should I be worried right now? Do you think Uncle Hunter and John might, just _might_ , let you three live this down?” 

 “Hunter and John won't be able to hear it from you if they’re not able to find you,” the first man threatened, voice deepening into a menacing snarl. 

 “Wow Randy, that growl has improved since the last time I saw you. But you should know by now that your in-ring character doesn't scare me,” she chuckled with a fake yawn as she leaned against a crate, crossed her right leg over her left as she crossed her arms. 

 “Dude, you're getting soft!” Cody teased. 

 “Yea! I thought you said that the ladies, jus' couldn't resist your deep, dark voice!” Ted proclaimed, his Louisiana accent thicken with each word. 

 “I figured it out guys,” Rikki gasped with a look of fake horror. “The Viper has lost his sting! His bite no longer exudes a chill in the air. Fear has been reduced to mere nothing. A Black-hole has formed where the bite once stood, proud and tall.” 

 “Oh my God! Whatever will we do?!” Cody and Ted squealed in unison. 

 “Ham it up you guys!” Randy snorted with an eye-roll. “You three are nothing but a bunch of little shit disturbers.” 

 With that, Randy shoved Cody and Ted back and then playfully grabbed Rikki in a head-lock and ruffled her hair, all the while she struggled to get out of his grip. It was just like when she was a kid. But Randy was a whole lot stronger than he was back then, which meant Rikki had to resort to pounding on his arm to release her. 

 “Randy, the hair! Watch the hair.” She exclaimed, then let out a loud _eep_ when Randy gave her head one last rough rub. “You are _so_ lucky that I don't have to get ready for the show right now, which means havin' my hair perfect, because Brie would kill you!” 

 Randy snorted. “Like I'm scared of that tiny woman - _ow_!” Randy let out a yelp and grabbed his arm. 

 “Hey, there’s absolutely nothin' wrong with tiny women! I happen to be short! Are you afraid of me Randy?” Rikki growled menacingly. 

 All of sudden, both of Cody's and Ted's hands shot up in the air, eyes wide. “We are!” 

 “ _NO_ ,” Randy squeaked in alarm, then cleared his throat. “No, of course not. Rikki sweetie I didn't mean you. You're my short-stuff, squirt, any name in the book. Short people have their own attitude.” 

 “Man, you are so whipped” Cody said as he patted Randy on his shoulder in sympathy. 

 Rikki let out a snort at Cody's comment, then turned back to Randy. “Keep breakin' out that shovel son, I think you broke through day-light.” 

 “Not a word about this to Hunter or I'm so trashing your locker-room,” Randy gave Ted a mock glare to add to his threat, making Ted raise his hands in surrender. 

 This was what Rikki missed the most being back down to NXT. The Four Musketeers! That had been the affectionate nickname that the locker-room had given Randy, Cody, Teddy and Rikki as she was growing up. You wouldn't find one without the others and it had been worse for Rikki when it was just her and Nattie. 

 They had being inseparable; attached at the hip. Her and Nattie's dad's had from the heart and affectionately named them 'The Terrible Twosome' or “The Absent-minded Twins”! 

 It was in that moment that the four bodies stood in the hallway and stared at each other before they promptly burst out laughing and pulled each other into a four-way hug. Rikki was back where she belong and with her “older” brothers once more. 

 “I caught your final match on NXT. You were amazing kiddo,” Ted DiBiase Jr said with pride. “Dad was even impressed. He couldn't get over how much you've grown and how graceful you were in the ring.” 

 “Yea, Dad was so proud of you down there. The way he went on and on about you, Goldie and I had to check you out.” Cody said with a huge grin. 

 Rikki couldn't help but stare at Cody Rhodes. “Let me get this straight. You and Goldie were mysteriously at one of my matches and I never saw either of you? Where the hell was I?!” 

 Randy, Cody and Ted burst out laughing at Rikki's frustrated growl. “In your match!” The cheekiness of their statement caused Rikki to growl again. 

 The camaraderie between the four friends in the hall was broken up by dual ear piercing screeches so loud that it caused the four occupants to jump straight in the air and in perfect unison, turned as one towards the sound.  

 What they saw was a very irate Brie Bella and Natalya Neidhart making their way towards them at a fast pace. The way Nattie was moving, it looked like someone had lit a fire under her. That was when Rikki remembered that she forgot to let both Nattie and Brie know that she was coming to Raw permanently. 

 At least it wasn't Nikki's ire that she was feeling at this point. That woman, was the last person Rikki wanted to deal with angry. With the jet leg and the long drive from both Houston and her Uncle Shawn's ranch, her legs just didn't have the strength to run. Everyone knew how fast Nikki could run in high heels, fractured shin or not. And Rikki was most certainly not going to test her short-distance sprints. 

 Especially since she had her debut promo that very night and she wasn't going to be exhausted. She needed her wits about her in case the promo broke down, which was normally how debut promos went. 

 “TED DIBASE JR, CODY RHODES AND RANDAL KEITH ORTON! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND KINDLY STEP AWAY FROM MS. RIKKI PIPER CALAWAY!” Nattie yelled, making her way towards Rikki. 

 The boys in question raised their hands and ever so slowly backed away from Rikki, which caused her to roll her eyes. 

 “Why are we being arrested all of a sudden?” Cody asked, sounding a little put out. If Rikki looked close enough, she could have sworn she saw Ted and Randy pout a little. 

 “Oh My God! Guys, Nattie isn't going to arrest anyone, right Nat?” Rikki said as she gently elbowed Natalya in the side. “Right Nat?!” 

 When she didn't get her answer, Rikki looked over at the woman in question and saw a mischievous smirk on her face. These were the moments that Rikki knew Nattie lived for, playing mind games on Ted, Cody and Randy. 

 “I won't hurt them _much_ , but we're on a tight schedule here sweetpea so chop-chop!” Nattie made an about face and proceeded to march back the way she came. 

 Rikki rolled her eyes. “I guess the dictator has spoken. Her Royal Majesty has set forth her rule and I, her humble servant, must follow.” She teased. 

 “SO LET IT BE WRITTEN, SO LET IT BE DONE!” Nattie yelled from down the hallway. 

 “That girl needs something to distract her, like Tyson perhaps. As much as I hate to agree with Nattie on anything, this is one time that I will. You have a lot to do in a short time before Raw starts.” Brie said diplomatically. “Hunter and Steph want to see you before we Diva's work our magic to get you ready.” 

 “Well duty calls boys! I'll see you later” Rikki said as she gave Ted, Randy and Cody each a hug as she followed both Brie and Nattie down the hall. 

 It was good to be home as Rikki let out a contented sigh as she made her way down the hall behind Brie and Nattie. Everytime Rikki was with these two or Nikki, you honestly didn't know what was going to happen. 

 They gradually made their way towards the dressing rooms that were used as offices when Raw or Smackdown were in town. They stopped and Nattie knocked on the first door on the right as Brie took Rikki's bags. She gave her a quick hug followed by Nattie. 

 “Your things will be in the Diva's dressing room when your done.” Brie said with a cheeky grin. “It's great that your with us again.” 

 “I know! I missed this.” Rikki gave a quick grin. “I'll see you girls in a bit.” 

 Rikki watched the girls walk down the hall with her things towards the room the Diva's were using, whispering and pointing to her every once in while before they disappeared. 

  _I'_ _definitely have a reason to be nervous. They're scheming. And there is no telling what they will come up with',_ she said to herself as a ' _ **Come In**!_ ' sounded from behind the door. 

 Rikki squared her shoulders back and slowly opened the door. Her sea green eyes were lit with a hint of mischief. This was going to be DX worthy. “Excuse me, but I got a package here for a Mr. Helmsley for Beluga caviar!” 

 The nasal voice that came out of Rikki's mouth almost caused her to break character and let out a loud snort of laughter as she could hear her god-father on the other side of the door grumbling out-loud. 

 “What in the blue hell would I order caviar this close to lunch for, when a simple beer and cheese burger will do?” Hunter Hearst Helmsley, better known as Triple H, exclaimed out-loud as he stomped towards the door and flung it open only to get the shock of his life. 

 “Your Beluga caviar sir.” There standing in front of him was his 5'5”, dark red haired niece with a cheeky mischief grin that would rival DX. 

 H crossed his big arms across his chest and gave her a stern look that only lasted for about a half a second before he pulled her into a big bear hug. “Your Uncle Shawn has been giving you tips again hasn't he!” 

 “Nope!” Rikki popped her lips on the 'p' and grinned again. “This one was courtesy of Pops. He said that it was time that one of the founding members of DX experience what spontaneous gags feel like.” 

 “And of course you had no problem helping him whatsoever huh!?” H asked with a grin of his own. 

 “None whatsoever at all. Besides, Pops gives good Christmas and Birthday gifts and gifts in general. That I couldn't say no to.” Rikki shrugged. “I know where my meal ticket is.”  

 H let out a loud, boisterous laugh and couldn't help but pull his niece in for another hug. Oh, he had missed her. 

 “Well since you're here, let's get down to business shall we.” H said as he led Rikki further into his makeshift office and closed the door behind her and the led her towards his large desk. 

 When Rikki sat down in the chair across from her Uncle H, she took a look around the room. From the looks of it, it looked like it was ready for the show. Pictures accented the walls as well as the many accolades that H had earned over the years. 

 But it was the three pictures that adorned his desk that drew Rikki's eye. One was a picture of his and Aunt Steph's wedding day, the next was one of Aurora, Murphy and Vaughn but the last one, the last one brought a tear to her eye. It was from 1996, it showed her dad, her, Uncle Shawn, Uncle H, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Scott. It was the last picture of them taken with them together after the news hit that Uncle Kevin and Uncle Scott were leaving. 

 The photo showed little 7 year old Rikki holding the Intercontinental Championship with her dad and her uncles in the ring at Madison Square Garden. 

 “What ever happen to that little wisp of girl who thought wrestling, muscle cars, and motorcycles were cool?” H asked with a slight grin as he took a seat at his desk, picked up the photo and glanced at it wistfully. 

 “She's still here Uncle H, she just grew up.” Rikki cleared her throat to cover the fact she was a little choked up. 

 “And she's a tough cookie.” H exclaimed he put the photo back on the desk and gave his niece his full attention. “Now I know you signed the standard contract with Dusty for Raw but HR wants another signed for legal and security purposes.” 

 Rikki picked up the contract that H had slid across the desk towards her. She gave it a quick glance over having already read it with Dusty at NXT. She didn't even hesitate. She picked up a pen and skipped to the last page. Without a care in the world, she signed the dotted line. 

 “Now that HR's legal crap portion is out of the way, we can focus on the good stuff,” H began with a full blown grin. “Making a name for yourself here on the Main Roster.” 

 Rikki couldn't help but grin as well. “That's what I'm here for but I want to make it crystal clear here and now: I want to do this myself. I'm all for taking advice when you or someone offers it Uncle H, but I want to earn a title shot myself. Not because I'm Triple H's God-Daughter or Undertaker's Daughter! I earn my achievements on my own!” 

 H couldn't help but sit back in his chair and look at the young woman across with pride. She had grown up so much. 

 “Baby girl, by the time we're finished with you and you've established yourself here, nobody is going to say you got here on special privilege. Now I'm not going to lie sweetheart,” H said with a small sigh. “There are going to be some naySayers that don't think you should be here because you managed to get here because of your family, but your going to prove them wrong.” 

 “You’re damn right I am!” Rikki all but growled. She knew it would happen but she didn't think it would happen so soon. 

 Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock followed by the sound of the temporary office door opening and closing. Rikki turned in her seat and looked to see who had entered. The smile on her face stretched a mile long. 

 “Hunter, please tell me that you haven't upset my God-Daughter already?!” The woman, dressed to the nines in the grey business suit with 4 and 1/2 inch ankle boots, said firmly. 

 H looked at his wife in disbelief and gave her a mock hurt look. “Steph I'm hurt! Why do you always assume that it's me that riles Rikki up half the time?!” 

 “Because it usually is.” Steph and Rikki answered in unison much to H's chagrin and shock. 

 Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley had always been close to Rikki growing up. She wasn't just her Godmother, she was also her best friend. In fact, before Rikki had told Charlotte and Nikki about what happened with Logan, Steph was the first person she went to. 

 Now that she was here, she was going to make sure that her and Steph were going to catch up. 

 “How you holding up sweetie?” Stephanie asked with a huge grin as she pulled her into a big bear hug. 

 “It's lookin' pretty good so far. But that can all change by the time Raw starts. So how is this debut going to happen?” Rikki asked, her Texas accent shining through each word. 

 Hunter shook his head with a grin. “Straight to the point, just like your dad. Okay, this is how it's going to go; Steph is going to make an introduction and bring you down to the ring. I need you to shoot from the hip sweetie because you don't have script for tonight.” 

 “Okay I can do that. So ad-lib?” Rikki asked. 

 “Yes, but just for tonight Rikki,” Stephanie said firmly. “Did you glance at the board on the way in?” Steph as Rikki shook her head no. “It's important that from now on when you arrive to check the board to see who you will be facing. Just for tonight, we had your match. You'll be facing CM Punk.” 

 

Rikki stared at her Godparents eyes wide from shock. “Are you serious?! Have you lost your minds!?” The words just spilled from Rikki's mouth in a nervous babble. “You’re sending the champion after me in my very first match on Raw! Have I done something to piss you off or are you both just plum crazy?!” 

 Stephanie and Hunter could only stare at their God-daughter in silence before they blinked and burst out laughing. Never in a million years did they think that Rikki could say that much so quickly.  

 “Sweetheart, we're not pissed off at you. Maybe we _are_ a little crazy, but…” Hunter began as he stood up from his seat and made his way around his desk. He knelt in front of Rikki and took her hand in his large one. “If we didn't think you could take on Punk, we wouldn't have put you in match against him to begin with.” 

 Rikki took a deep breath and let it out slowly; her right leg bounced up and down anxiously. “You really think I can do this?” For the first time in 23 years, Rikki felt like that same little 7 year old who used to run around backstage. 

 “I know so. I have faith in you Rikki! You got this.” Hunter said as he gave her a huge bear hug. Just having those large arms wrapped around her, so reminiscent of her childhood, was enough to calm her down.   

 With that needed encouragement, Rikki left H's office with a huge grin. She was gonna make this the best debut of her life. 

 

 

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 

 

The smell of hairspray fumes roamed through the air of the Diva's locker-room as the girls were meretriciously set about getting Rikki's hair ready for the show. Rikki sat as patiently as she could. Their were only certain people that she trusted to do her hair and do it right. 

 Before the girls forced her into a seat to begin the long process, the girls made Rikki change into her dress for the opening of Raw. The dress was a vintage navy blue floral print. The bodice to the waist was navy blue with long sleeves while the skirt was white with navy blue flowers. The skirt flared out into a 50's style that was a mix of Grace Kelley and Marilyn Monroe. 

 Her shoes were Boohoo Alice round toe platform court 3 inch heels. Very rarely did Rikki wear high heels, but with encouragement from her mom, her Aunt Steph, her nana Linda, Nattie, Charlotte, Nikki and Brie, she was able to learn from them how to walk properly in heels. 

 Then the chaos began. Brie attacked her hair with the hairspray so Rikki would have the perfect hold; she had Nattie stand by with a comb. The trick was that as soon as Brie made the curl with the curling iron, Nattie would go behind her and comb it down to a soft curl. They did this until her whole head was finished. When they were done, Rikki's hair hung down her back in a dark red cascading wave. The style brought out her sea green eyes. 

 While Brie and Nattie stepped aside with the rest of the girls, Nikki stepped in. She started first with Rikki's nails. The colour matched Rikki's dress perfectly. The navy blue that Nikki began to apply to her nails became an extension of herself. 

 Rikki shook her hands and blew on them to help them dry. When she was done, she began to admire the colour; Nikki out did herself. It was then she felt a tap on her shoulder and she looked up to see Nikki have her look up at the ceiling. 

 Nikki painstakingly took her time to get Rikki's makeup right. She had Brie help apply the smokey eye-shadow to the whole eye on both sides. And then Nikki followed her with the blue tint. The blue with the smoky eye, brought out her eyes even more. 

 Nikki finished with mascara and then applied Lime Crime's Liquid matte lipstick called Wicked, blood red in colour. With the application of the lipstick, the whole outfit popped. There was a harmony! 

 When she was done, she allowed Rikki to stand and see herself in the dressing table mirror behind her. When she saw herself, the tears started to form in Rikki's eyes but were swiftly put to rest by Brie. 

 “Don't you dare, Pipes! We spent a half an hour at least making you look good! I mean, you do all the time, but the point is you better not mess up your makeup before you have to go on. Trust me! Been there, done that, it's not pretty.” Brie said as came over to her side and gave her a side-hug. 

 “Thank you guys,” Rikki began as she cleared her throat. “I couldn't have done all this without y'all!” 

 “Go knock them dead!' Nattie said with a huge grin. 

 This was going to be a debut to remember. Rikki gave them all a huge grin as she left the Diva's locker-room and made her way towards the Gorilla. 

 

~ _Opening, Monday Night Raw, October 2, 2012_ ~ 

 

THUNK, TAP, THUNK, TAP! The sound of heeled shoes making their way towards the Gorilla position, drew everyone's attention. AD's, sound techs, camera men, production assistants, Superstars and Diva's, everyone stopped and stared as the beauty made her way past them. 

 Randy, Ted and Cody dropped the bottles of water in their hands at the same time and their jaws hit the floor as they saw Rikki walk past them. They had no idea that she would clean up so good. 

 Stephanie was going over the final checks with Hunter when she looked up. Her blue eyes widened; she could only stand there and stare in surprise. 

 “Hunter! Hunter, look,” Stephanie said as she gently tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. 

 “What Steph,” Hunter began as he turned around and stopped. He too had to stare in shock. He found himself blinking his eyes a few times to clear them. When had his niece grown up!? Gone was the little dark red haired girl in pigtails who used to run around back-stage with Jimmy and Jey, getting into trouble. In front of him stood the girl who grew up into a beautiful woman. 

 “My God!” Hunter said, stunned. “Rikki Piper Calaway, you could open Raw in a rut sack and still knock ‘em dead.” He teased and kissed her on the cheek. “You look beautiful baby girl.” 

 Rikki couldn't help but blush. “Thanks Uncle H. I take it you approve?” She held her arms out at her sides and did a little spin. 

 “Wholeheartedly!” Hunter exclaimed. He was definitely going to make an excuse to have Rikki in a dress from now on, though he knew she was her own woman and only dress to the nines when it was important. 

 “Are you ready to go drive them crazy, and possibly give your Uncle Jerry another heart attack!?” Hunter asked, teasing as he wagged his eyebrows. 

 Rikki in turn gave him a sharp glare and a punch on the shoulder. “Don't even joke about that. The incident took 10 years off my life, thank you very much!” 

 Stephanie let out a full blown laugh at the antics of her God-Daughter and husband. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she agreed with Rikki. She still had nightmares about that night. 

 “Stephanie is going to go out out first, make a few introductions and then announce you. Then you follow right behind her,” Hunter began. He gave a recap about what would happen. “We're only playing your theme song for right now, the bells and whistles of your full entrance will be good to go when you have your match.” 

 “Okay, no problem.” Rikki said as she took a deep breath.Hunter gave a deep laugh and pulled her into his side for a hug. 

 “You'll be just fine.” With that said, he turned to the AD and gave the go ahead signal. 

 

/////////////////////////////////////////// 

 

“ _The AT &T Centre in San Antonio, Texas is full to capacity. A whopping 15,118 of the WWE Universe are spread out like the sea. Let's go to the ring to hear from our principal owner, Stephanie McMahon, to kick us off!” Michael Cole began._ 

 The cameras swung towards the ring to face Stephanie where she stood with a big smile on her face, This was what she loved more than anything, the roar of the crowd. 

 “Good-evening _ladies and gentlemen and welcome to_ ** _Monday Night RAWWW_** _!” Stephanie yelled. The crowd yelled with her._  

 “ _I know that you've probably waited 2 weeks for this happen. I'm thrilled and proud to announce our newest WWE Superstar into our ranks.” Stephanie began with a huge. “We all know the girl needs no introduction,”_  

 All of sudden the lights in the arena began to flicker in and out. Then the opening strains to Muse's “Supermassive Black-hole” began to filter through out the arena and then the spotlight landed on the stage. The WWE Universe waited with baited breath. 

 Finally a lone woman walked out from behind the curtain and made her way towards the centre on the stage that headed down the ramp. Her long, dark red hair formed a curtain in front of her face as she kept her head down, until she raised it and looked at the crowd with a huge grin. 

 “ _Oh My God! Is it?! Is it her?!” Michael began in shock. “JBL, Jerry, are you seeing this?! Is that who I think it is?!”_  

 Rikki made her way down the ramp, towards the ring, slapping hands as she went, with a grin that spread from ear to ear. She could feel the encouragement her Aunt was sending her way. 

 “ _If it is her, then she's sprouted into a very beautiful woman since the last time I saw her.” Jerry said excitedly. “What do you think JBL?”_  

 “ _I'm thinkin' a certain little girl ain't so little anymore.” JBL said with a hint of pride in his voice. “You can only imagine what her Daddy's going through at this moment. The Dark Princess has finally come home Michael! I love it!”_  

 Rikki made her way up the very same steps that led to ring, that she had seen her father climb night after night, since she was a little girl. _'I did it_ '. She thought to herself as she did a small spin on the apron before she climbed through the bottom rope and made her towards Steph. 

 “ _I'm deeply honoured to say that Aspen Wolf is finally part of the Main Roster. We expect great things from this woman right here. Aspen has proven and shown that women have a place in this world but they also are tough enough to stand toe to toe with and against men. Aspen is well on her way to being great,” Stephanie began. “There is no doubt in my mind that she won't be the first woman but also rookie to win the title. She proved that she can and will succeed.”_  

 Rikki blushed but couldn't wipe the grin away from her face as her Aunt handed her the mic. 

 “ _No pressure,” Aspen teased. The crowd gave a little laugh, followed by Michael, JBL and Jerry. “Thank you Stephanie. Coming from you that's a pretty big complement. But I haven't had my first match yet so let's not jump the gun just yet.” Again the crowd laughed. “I'm at a loss for words right now, which is first for me.”_  

  _The Universe clapped, cheered and laughed at the same time to give Aspen some encouragement. “Thank you. Thank you. I may have gotten here because of my talent,” Aspen began as she pointed at the crowd. “But it's because of each and everyone of you that I'm in this ring right now and fighting with the Big Boys. I wouldn't have done it, if you didn't have faith and believed in me, so thank you.”_  

 The crowd clapped again. Never had Rikki had been at a loss for words before. But from the encouragement of the WWE universe and Stephanie, she found an inner push. 

 “ _I maybe a rookie, a woman and small; but don't let those three things deter you from what's on the inside of me. I intend to do something that in the history of women's wrestling has never been done before and that's become the very first woman to hold ALL of the men's title's.” Aspen started but the roar of the crowd caused her to pause._  

 “ _Thank you. I just wanted to say that I'm putting the guys in the back on notice.” Aspen said firmly as she looked in the camera. “Bring your A game. Because when you step in this ring with me, I fight with everything that I have. I'm not a delicate flower, a fragile China doll or someone to be brushed aside,” Aspen's voice grew with intensity. “I'm a Wolf and it's time you-”_  

 All of sudden, the AT&T Centre was engulfed with sounds of “ _Cult of Personality_ ” as CM Punk and his pet stooge Paul Heyman made their way on the stage. They hadn't even made it towards the ring, they didn't need to. Rikki already knew they were there to cause trouble for her. 

 “ _This absolutely appalling! I can't believe this,” Punk began terrain. “So let me get this straight: not only do I have to defend my title against '_ ** _Men_** _', but I also have defend it against a slip of a girl who shouldn't even be in this division, but should be fighting girls her own age.”_  

 Punk and Paul took one look at each other and burst out laughing. Rikki couldn't help but grin. They could yak it up all they wanted, she was here to stay. 

 “ _Punk, take a good look at me. Do you see a fragile china doll in front of you?! Is that a hard question for you? How about this: when you look at me who do you see?” Aspen fired off question after question. She could see Punk struggling. “It's not that hard Punky, if you can't see the Deadman's daughter standing in front of you, than you took too many chair shots to the head.”_  

 Rikki quickly glanced over at Paul and the feeling of satisfaction washed over her as he paled ever so slightly. 

 “ _Ms. Wolf.” Paul squeaked and then cleared his throat. “Ms. Wolf, it's not that we don't believe you can't face CM Punk- WWE Champion of 344 days and win because that's impossible. No, what we're saying is that you simply don't measure up.”_  

 “ _Okay, okay. Whoa! Let me stop you right there Pauly boy,” Aspen said with a sigh. “Do you have a can of BS in your back pocket or does it just sprout out of your mouth like Tourette syndrome ?”_  

  _The crowd cheered while Michael, Jerry and JBL were struggling to stop laughing over the commentary table. Tears were rolling down their cheeks and it was difficult to breathe._  

  _Punk growled and took a threatening step forward. “Little girl, let me explain something to you; in order to face me that ring, the line starts and ends through me.” Punk had made it halfway down the ramp when he stopped, gave her his famous crooked smile and a condescending wink. “When you manage to grow a pair of balls, let me know.”_  

 “ _Oh you mean the pair that you conveniently cut off and have Paul hold for you in his purse while you’re singing soprano?” Aspen asked with an innocent smile. That's all it took for Stephanie to lose it and burst out laughing._  

 There was a loud cheer followed by various degrees of screaming from the crowd. It was at this point that you couldn't really hear yourself think. It was like being stuck in a cave and having the sound vibrate off the walls. 

 “ _You_ _little Bit-” Punk growled and was abruptly stopped by Paul, who was vigorously shaking his head, his eyes wide in shock and his skin turned white as a sheet._  

 “ _Mr. Heyman, kindly remind your 'Client' that this is my show and as such he has a job to do,” Stephanie said firmly. “Because tonight's Main Event, we're going to see if Punk is all talk and no play.” Stephanie grinned as she watched as Punk vigorously shake his head and glare at her from on the ramp. “Tonight Punk, you will face Aspen Wolf in her debut match in the Main Event and we'll see if the line does indeed go through you.” Stephanie glowed in amusement as Punk snarled and tried to charge the ring to get to Steph and Aspen._  

 Rikki couldn't decide if the crowd could get any louder or not. She was smiling so much her face hurt. Just watching Stephanie put both Paul and Punk in their place was just like the old days. 

 “ _Well, I guess we'll finally get to see Aspen handle her first test on the Roster.” Jerry said with a laugh. “And man, I can't wait! I'm excited Cole, I'm excited!”_  

 “ _I know what you mean King. Both Stephanie and Aspen had a few choice words to both Paul and CM Punk.” Michael said. “This match will be something to see.”_  

 “ _Yes but Michael, this is going to be Aspen's debut match, which she's going to be under a lot of pressure. Will she be able to maintain that pressure and capitalise on it and push back at Punk with everything she's got, like this was her WrestleMania?”_  

 

///////////////////////////////////////////////////// 

 

When Rikki made it down the stairs heading back towards Gorilla, her knees buckled and she would've fallen to the floor had Stephanie not wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her up. The Adrenalin seemed to leave her body as she went back-stage. 

 “Baby girl, you were amazing!” Hunter said with a huge grin as wrapped her up in a bear hug. 

 “I hope so,” She exclaimed. “I never went through this much pressure or nerves when I was on NXT or when I came up here during the summer.” Rikki took a deep breath to calm herself. 

 “You nailed it sweetie. I have never, EVER, seen Paul go white as a sheet before. Maybe having you here, puts the fear of god into him.” Hunter teased. 

 “Well it's partly me, but I think the real reason he went white as a sheet was when I inadvertently brought up my father.” Rikki gave a teasing grin. “I guess Paul still has some bad memories about the Deadman.” 

 Gorilla was suddenly filled by a loud, boisterous laugh. Hunter wiped the tears away from his eyes. “Sweetheart, you'll fit in just fine. You should go shower and mingle with the girls until the Main Event.” 

 In move that she had seen Dean perform a thousand times before, she pressed her thumb and fingers into the form of a church and gave her God-father a sensai bow, then walked away. Along the way, she reached down and removed the high heels from her feet. 

 

////////////////////////////////////////////////// 

 

As soon as Rikki stepped through the door to the Diva's locker room, she was immediately swarmed. Applause and loud cheers followed in her wake. It was hard for Rikki to comprehend the Diva's reception when she was in a different division all together. 

 “That's how it's done!” “She's going to do us proud!” “I knew you could do it.” 

 It overwhelmed Rikki to hear the Diva's encouraging compliments when it was still so cereal for her. But it was the last statement that came from Nikki. She had knew that the Bella Twins had faith in her, even Nattie, but the twins were her biggest supporters. 

 “Jeez guys, talk about pressure!” Rikki said with a watery grin. She had honestly thought that the rest of the girls would recent her for even thinking about wrestling in the Men's Division, but evidently she was wrong. 

 “Okay, okay, okay!” Nikki stepped in with authority. “Enough of this wishy, washy, mushy, BS crap!” She exclaimed then turned to Rikki and pointed towards the bathroom. “Go shower so you can change out that dress and can put it in your garment bag and I'll hand you your wrestling gear for your match.” 

 “Yes general!” Rikki said cheekily as gave her a smart salute. Then spun on her heel and marched toward the showers. 

 “And don't forget to wash your hair and clean your eyes. Your lipstick is waterproof but we need to change your eyeshadow to match your outfit.” Nikki yelled. 

 As the water cascaded down Rikki's body, she let out a sigh of relief. The first part was out of the way; now she had to face Punk in the Main Event to solidify her place on Raw. With every cascade of hot water, she felt her nerves from the opening just wash down the drain. 

 She reached over on the shelf and noticed that either Brie or Nikki put her shampoo and conditioner in the shower for her. She scrubbed away the numerous amounts of hairspray that Brie used in her hair. 

 After she shampooed twice just to make sure she got all the hairspray, Rikki applied the conditioner and left it to sit while she washed away the sweat from the lights and washed the eye-shadow off. 

 After she finished washing, she rinsed the conditioner from her hair and turned the shower off, grabbed a big fluffy towel and wrapped it around herself as she stepped out. She then wrapped a towel around her hair and proceeded to get dressed. 

 Rikki then took the towel and dry herself off and making sure that she didn't knock the towel off her head, she carefully slipped her black sports bra over her head and then slipped on matching boy shorts. She then reached for her purple Dolce E Gabbanna Colt On tight pants. 

 This was followed by a pair of white and purple ankle socks, her Topshop 'Pretty Poison' Rock Band T-shirt and her Sketcher's Women's Mila- Velvet Voyage Purple sneakers. She then unwrapped her hair and vigorously dried it. 

 When she was finished, Rikki flipped her hair back and gave herself one last look. When she was satisfied, she walked back into the main room where Brie and Nikki were waiting for her. 

 “Oh My God!” Brie exclaimed. “You look _so sexy_ but like, classy too!.” 

 “I have to agree Rik.” Nikki said with a sly grin. “I know of certain a someone down at NXT who won't be able to tear his eyes away from the TV when you come out.” 

 Rikki blushed and rolled her eyes as she playfully shoved Nikki. “Yea right! You and Charlotte just can’t let this go! Y’all have wild imaginations!” 

 “Okay you two, enough shenanigans,” Brie chastised, ever the mama bear. “Let's finish getting Rikki ready and then you two can horse around.” 

 And with that, Rikki's transformation began. Nikki quickly redid her smokey eye look with dark and sandy eyeshadow and then set about to removing the navy blue nail polish that went with her last outfit. While Nikki was doing that, Brie lathered her hands with strong hold mousse. 

 She gently ran her fingers through Rikki's hair as he sat perfectly still. Making sure she covered every layer. Then the fun began. Brie started at the top and began to twist each strand from the left side to the right and then clip each twist with a purple or silver bead clip. 

 She then made a thick braid and knotted it with a smaller braid beside it and wrapped round her hair like braided circlet and then integrated the ends of both single braids to make it look like one. With the hair that was left, Brie began to put the finishing touches to the look. 

 Brie grabbed more mousse and ran her fingers once again through Rikki's hair to bring out her natural wavy hair. She then began to move left to right again and made five more braids. When she was done, Brie gave her hair a quick once-over with hair spray to make sure everything stayed in place. 

 By the time Brie was done with Rikki's hair, Nikki had finished with Rikki's nails. The mix of light and dark purple nail polish, set the outfit off just right. 

 “Okay girl check it out.” Brie said with a huge grin. 

 When Rikki turned and looked at herself in the mirror, she nearly fainted. Her Shield-maiden braids were unbelievable! And her nails… She could find the words, too emotional to speak. She turned back towards Brie and Nikki and enveloped them in a huge hug. 

 If she didn't leave now, there were going to be tears that most definitely would mess up her make-up and then Brie and Nikki would lock her in a supply closet until she learned her lesson. 

 

///////////////////////////////////// 

 

On her way back towards Gorilla, Rikki managed to get her emotions calmed down some before she faced her Uncle Hunter and Aunt Steph. As she approached Gorilla she was met with a huge surprise. 

 There, standing beside Hunter engrossed in a deep conversation with him, was her Pops. Vincent Kennedy McMahon very rarely came to a tapping now a days. He worked mostly behind the scenes or was most likely at the Main office in Stanford. 

 But to see him there now, Rikki thought she might faint. It was bad enough that her Aunt and Uncle were going to see her wrestle, but Pops... 

 “Rikki,” Hunter grinned as he pulled away from Vince and made his way toward her. “You’re just in time.” 

 All Rikki could do was smile and nod. Talking was not an option at this moment; her nerves were just too bad. 

 “Baby girl look at you,” Vince proclaimed as he ambled his way over to Rikki and Hunter. “You get beautiful every time I see you. Your braids especially bring out your eyes.” 

 Again Rikki nodded. She took a deep breath. By the time she wrestled tonight, her nerves were going to get the better of her. Vince gave her a huge grin and drew his wayward 'Granddaughter' into a big bear hug. He ran his large hands up and down her back. 

 “Rikki, breathe sweetie, breathe. The first show is always the worst. But once you get this behind it will be smooth sailing,” Vince assured. “Maybe this will take your mind off it. I have something for you from me and Nana Linda, sort of a good luck charm.” 

 When he pulled back he reached into his breast coat pocket and pulled out a bracelet. Rikki's eyes went wide as she let out a gasp, hand covering her mouth. There in Vince's hand was a Philip Gaveriel rhodium plated woven sterling silver bracelet with a wolf head and a sterling silver circlet in it's mouth with blue synthetic sapphires. 

 “Oh My God! Pops thank,” Rikki couldn't speak, she began to get choked up until her Aunt Steph stepped in. 

 “Oh Rikki don't mess your make up sweetie. Here let me put it on for you.” Stephanie took the bracelet from her father's fingers and clasped it on Rikki's right wrist. It went with her outfit perfectly. 

 The AD came over to tell her to get ready. With that, Rikki gave her Pops and Uncle Hunter a big hug and made her towards the stairs and and waited by the curtain for her cue. 

 

 

~ _Main Event, Monday Night Raw, October 2, 2012_ ~ 

 

“ _Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Main Event. We finally get to witness the debut of Aspen Wolf.” Michael exclaimed. “What do you guys think, does she have a chance?”_  

 “ _I think she has a very good chance. Puck, there's no doubt in my mind, that he's going to play mind games with her somehow and get a sneaky win. But Aspen has this. She reminds me of her dad. And we all know how his debut turned out.” Jerry said with a huge grin._  

 “ _Jerry, you can't disrespect our champion like that,” JBL began. “I have all the respect in the world for Aspen. I watched her grow up from knee high to a grasshopper into the beautiful woman she is now, I have had the privilege to witness all her matches in NXT, she reminds of her father with her in-ring ability and her in-ring psychology. But the fact of the matter, she's not going to be able to pull off a win her first night. Punk is champion and he's being here longer. It's just the way it is.”_  

 It didn’t take long for both Michael and Jerry to express their opinions on the matter. 

 “ _Guys I know how you feel, but the deciding factor in this match is the fact that CM Punk is WWE Champion and he has been her longer.” JBL said with a shrug of his shoulders._  

 Michael and Jerry remained silent after that, neither could disagree with what JBL said. This was Aspen's debut and no matter how much they wanted the little they watched grow up before their eyes win and put Puck in his place, he been here longer and knew every trick in the book. 

 “ ** _This match is set for one fall and can be won by either pinfall or submission._** _”_ Lillian Garcia began. _“_ ** _Introducing first the challenger. Making her debut match, weighing in at 118lbs, from Houston, Texas, Aspenn Wolfffff!_** _”_  

 All of sudden the lights began to flicker in and out, followed by a lighting strike. The first GONG hit followed by the eerie sound of the Druids singing. Then the second GONG struck. The Druids continued their mournful song when the third and final GONG rang. This was followed by a wolfs hauntingly beautiful howl.  

 And then the beginning strains of “Supermassive Black-hole” by Muse began. Rikki took a deep breath and stepped through the curtain to the loudest cheer she ever received, even on NXT. 

 She ran back and forth on both sides of the stage, playing off the crowd as she went. Then she walked down the ramp with her head held high and slapped hands with crowd on both sides before she ran for the ring, leapt in the air, grabbed the top rope and vaulted herself into the ring. 

 The crowd got louder as she walked over to Lillian and gave her a huge hug. 

 “ _Listen to this crowd. Could it be the match or could it be for the debut of the Lovely Aspen?”_ Jerry asked, his voice getting louder as the excitement of the match progress. 

 “ _You maybe right King, but it all depends on our next opponent.”_ Michael said seriously _._  

 “ ** _And Introducing her opponent, weighing in at 218lbs, from Chicago, Illinois, he is the WWE Champion, CM Punkkk!_** _”_ Lillian finished as she quickly got out of the ring in case it started to brake down real quick. 

 “ _ **Look in my eyes what do you see, the Cult of Personality** ,”_ The beginnings of Cult of Personality began and Punk stepped onto the stage with his stooge Paul Heyman close behind. 

 “ _Cut my music, cut my music!”_ Punk yelled and then turned his disgruntled look towards the ring. _“This is unbelievable. I won't go through with this. I'm the WWE Champion, I don't have to wrestle a '_ ** _Girl_** _' to know I'm the best. I am the Best, The Best in the World.”_ Punk growled. _“Little girl, you don't have what it takes to hang with the big boys.”_  

 Aspen growled. She took a deep breath, walked over to the backside of the ring, stuck her head through the ropes, motioned Lillian over, took her microphone and walked back to centre and gave Punk a death stare that caused him to step back. 

 “ _You know Punk, you talk too much!'_ Aspen said calmly, the roar of the crowd could be heard behind her 

 “ _WWE Champion! I've seen better. My uncle Steve, as in Stone Cold Steve Austin, has philosophy about that. That precious belt you wear sooo proudly around waist paints a target on your back my man,”_ Aspen Texas accent got thicker with each word. _“It forces you to fight in this ring that I'm standing right now, every night, forces you to Put up or Shut Up!”_  

 The cheer that rose from the WWE Universe, shook the arena. _“And_ ** _Best In World,_** _there were only two people in my live who could say that statement and make it sound believable. One of them dead: Love you Uncle Owen.”_ Aspen said as she crossed her heart and pointed to the ceiling. _“The other is Bret Hart. He is: The Best there was, The Best There Is and The Best That Always Will Be!”_ Aspen yelled. Another yell rose from the crowd. 

 “ _Big words from a little -”_ Punk stopped when Aspen rose her hand. 

 “ _I'm not done, to quote the Miz: 'When My Hand Goes Up, Your Mouth Goes Shut!'”_ Aspen said as she began to pace, much to Punk and Paul's shock. _“I never seen a man who wants to Bitch and Moan on a weekly basis. Be glad you are champion, because that could all go away.”_ Aspen exclaimed as the crowd roared again. 

 “ _Aspen you don't want to go down this road with me.”_ Punk growled. _“I will chew you up and spit you out for breakfast.”_ Punk began to pace back and forth on top of the stage like caged animal. 

 “ _Then why don't you get your skinny ass down in this ring and shut me the hell up!”_ Aspen said with a huge grin. Another yell again shook the arena. 

 “ _Maybe I will,”_ Punk stated as he started down the ramp and then stopped. _“But not today.”_  

 If anyone could have thought the WWE Universe could cheer so it would reach the wrestling gods, hell yea they would. But to do what Punk just did, he was going to be lucky if he made it out of the AT&T centre alive. 

 “ _No, no, no, no! Don't turn this around on me. When I say, I_ ** _Will_** _give Aspen her match against me. It's just not tonight,”_ Punk began, his voice growing more cocky as he went. _“No, I have something special planned for Aspen this fine evening. Turns out, someone else wants to get their hands on you.”_  

They didn't have to wait long when the strains of a guitar picked up which was followed by that familiar country twang that she heard all last month when she had been down at NXT. 

 “ ** _We're a 3 man Band,_** _”_ The crowd began to voice their displeasure anew when the 3 Man Band in question stepped out onto the stage and their suppose leader, Heath Slater, opened his mouth. 

 “ _Atlanta, we're ready to rock your world tonight,”_ Heath yelled but was cut off by Aspen clearing her throat. 

 “ _Hey Slater! Was it a chair shot that caused your absent mindedness or did your mama drop you on your head as a baby?”_ Aspen called to him with a smirk _._ “ _Because the last time I checked, this here wasn't Atlanta, Georgia,”_ Aspen began as the crowd began to back her, _“This is Texas! More specifically,_ ** _San Antonio_** _, and my Home Damn State!”_  

 The Universe yelled louder then they did before. _“Now time's a wastin', so get your ass in this damn ring and let's fight.”_  

 Aspen was through playing around and she watched Punk with a death glare as he walked past her and sat down in one of the chairs at ring-side to watch the match that he provided for her. She was going to make him pay. 

 Heath swaggered down the ramp with Drew and Jinder following in step behind him. There was no way that Heath was going to leave this match cocky as ever. She was going to put him in his place, even if it was her first match on Raw. He wasn't spoiling this for her. 

 Rikki let out the breath she was holding. She just hoped that her Pops, Uncle H and Aunt Steph planned this because if they didn't, someone was going to get fined. Very rarely did the Divas and Superstars get to go off script without being told. It would throw off the general flow of the show but it could also get someone hurt. Been there and done that. 

 “ _It's looks like we're set to go.”_ Michael said as the bell rang. 

 Heath and Rikki began to circle each other and then snapped into a grapple. Heath was 6'2” so he had a decent advantage on her with his height, but the guy was as skinny as a stick. Her well-formed muscles easily took the cake on that one.  

 They grappled for another second before Heath spun and twisted her arm into an arm lock. She grunted. She couldn't move or twist around to break the hold, the more she twisted the tighter he held her. 

 “ _Slater has that arm-lock applied tight. Aspen can't seem to counter.”_ Michael explained. 

 “ _Yea, but don't count Aspen out just yet Cole.”_ King said. _“I have feeling that she has somethin' up her sleeve.”_  

 “ _Having somethin' up her sleeve or not, if Aspen can't break free of this hold then this match might go in Slater's favour,”_ JBL said with a face the held a slightly serious/slightly concern look. 

 She grunted again. Rikki blew out a breath and got a much needed push. As if hearing JBL, she crouched down and twisted left, somersaulted right and broke free and managed to lock Heath in a arm-lock of her own. 

 “ _Whoa! Shades of Owen and Bret Hart.”_ Michael exclaimed in shock. 

 All of sudden, Heath broke free and then hit her with a jumping Russian legsweep. Rikki laid on her back stunned. She hadn't been expecting that. 

 “ _And Slater capitalizes with Sweetness.”_ Michael yelled. _“And fellas, Aspen might be in trouble.”_  

 “ _Yea, but I'm still not counting her out just yet Michael.”_ King proclaimed. 

 Rikki let some air back into her lungs as she slowly climbed back to her knees. But Heath was right there. He picked her up by the hair and then scooped her up in his arms to hit her with the Scoop Slam but Rikki countered. She turned her body around, grabbed his hair and the face planted him a Sitout Facebuster. 

 “ _Oh My God. Fellas, I believe Aspen just use what she calls 'Air Wolf'. The match might be turning.”_ Michael exclaimed. 

 Rikki then stood up and walked towards the back right turnbuckle. She looked behind her to see if he was still out and then leapt up with her legs spread and then bounced off and up into a corkscrew and then turned her body into the Moonsault position and hit Heath with it. 

 “ _Oh I know this move from the summer Cole, Aspen just broke out 'Reaper's Got To Pay' on Heath. Brook didn't know what hit him at the time and I don't think Heath does either.”_ King said with a little laugh. 

 Rikki quickly got up, hooked his leg and covered Heath. _“One, Two, Th-”_ Heath kicked at the last second. She could help but stare at Heath in shock. She had hit him with one of her best moves and hit him hard. 

 “ _And Slater kicks out at two and half.”_ Michael exclaimed _. “Aspen is in shock.”_  

 “ _It's goin' to take a lot more than Air Wolf, to put Slater away. And plus she needs to keep her head on a swivel. It's not just Heath that she has to worry about, it's alos Jinder and Drew as well.”_ JBL said, noting the seriousness of the situation. 

 Rikki climbed to her feet and tuned towards Heath, who was getting back to his knees. She then turned towards the announce table, stuck two fingers in her mouth and let a sharp whistle to get JBL's attention. 

 “ _Hey John, I think Aspen want's you.”_ Michael said as he tapped on the arm. 

 “ _What's she want?”_ JBL asked, confused. He turned towards the ring and nodded his head acknowledgement. 

 Rikki's face broke into a full blown grin as she pointed at JBL then pointed at Heath. She grabbed her right shoulder, swung it around twice and then ran for ropes. She bounce off first on one side then other. When she came back around, she hit Heath with a clothesline that nearly took his head off. 

 “ _Oh My God! Aspen just hit Heath with the Clothesline From Hell.”_ Michael said in shock. _“There are no words at this moment.”_  

 “ _Yea, dang near took Heath Slater's head off.”_ King exclaimed with a grin. 

 JBL flashed both Michael and King a grin of his own _. “That's my girl! My Little Dark Princess did me proud.”_  

 Rikki decided to put the poor boy out his misery and waited for him to get to his feet. She then slipped under his arms as he took swipes at her head and then grabbed him by the waist then flipped him back in a Bridging Northern Lights Suplex. 

 “ _OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!”_ Michael yelled. _“Owen Hart, she just busted out Northern Hart,”_ Michael stopped, and then said furiously, “ _No! This not right. A 3-1 assault now on Aspen, who had this match in the bag.”_  

 While Rikki bridged for the cover and the win, she didn't see both Jinder and Drew slip into the ring. Then assault began. She completely caught unawares. Jinder and Drew continued to kick and punch at her long after the bell rang. 

 “ ** _The winner of this match, via disqualification, Aspen Wolfff!”_** Lillian said as she announced the ref's dissension. 

 That announcement seemed to spur 3MB on more. Their assault picked up more, never letting Aspen a chance to breathe. Pissed beyond belief that Aspen got her first win on Raw, even it was from a disqualification. 

 All of a sudden the entire arena went green and the lights began to flicker. 

 “ ** _It's a shame to fame, you lost your head,_** ” The music started then as sudden as the music started, the crowd erupted as Sheamus hit the ramp running, He slid into the ring,drawing attention from Rikki to himself. But it wasn't done there. 

 “ ** _You know (you know) What me say. SOS I hear them shoutin' I hear them cryin',_** ” That's all it took for Kofi to get to the ring. Rikki leaned against the ropes in particle disbelief and particle shock. 

 Both Kofi and Sheamus came down to her rescue even though she was a rookie, yes they had known her for years, especially Sheamus from her time in the indies. But for them to come out now, they didn't have to. They could have stayed in the back. But she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

 “ _Just a minute gentlemen, just wait one damn minute!”_ Stephanie said with a growl, then faltered a bit when Aspen turned and gave her look, leaning against the ropes. _“And Lady!”_  

 Rikki gave a smirk and a quick thumbs up from the ring. 

 “ _I will not have my show break down because the current WWE Champion,”_ At this point, Steph looked down at ringside and glared at CM Punk. _“Loves to live off chaos.”_  

 Rikki couldn't help but give Punk a slight glare as well. All this could have been avoided if Punk had followed the script like he was suppose to and had his match with her in the first place. If you were champion, you should fight! Not pick and choose your matches. 

 “ _So this how it's going to go,”_ Steph began _. “This match will be restarted but it will be a 6 men tag match and Punk,”_ At this point, Punk turned his cockily towards her. _“You are banned from ringside.”_  

 At this point, Punk and Heyman were throwing a fit. During the course of his temper tantrum, Punk sat back down in his seat, crossed his arm across his chest and refused to leave. Rikki shook her head. 

 Then she got an idea. She dove out of the ring and walked towards Lillian with a mischievous swagger that even had Both Punk and Paul uneasy. 

 “ _Boys, I do believe that Stephanie said you need to go. So,”_ Aspen said as she paused for dramatic effect. _“Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na, Hey,Hey,Hey Goodbye!”_  

 As if she planned it that way, the entire arena started to sing. Paul and Punk looked at Rikki in shock. They didn't think she had it in her. Punk stood and stared Rikki down and Rikki stared back, not batting an eyelash. They continued stare at each other until Paul dragged Punk away. 

 Rikki turned to the crowd and gave a bow as she move back to ring and slid inside. She walked towards Sheamus and Kofi but made sure to give 3MB a hard glare as she went by. 

 “ _And it looks like this match is underway and Sheamus starting us off.”_ Michael said. 

 Sheamus and Drew circled one another and then collide together in a large mass of muscle. They grappled for the lead, each not backing down, each not giving the other an inch. All the while Rikki and Kofi stood on the apron, cheering Sheamus on. 

 Until finally, Sheamus moved first and locked Drew into a side headlock. But Drew proved that he was just as strong as Sheamus and pushed back into the ropes where Sheamus was forced to break the hold. 

 Drew took a minute to recover before he charge Sheamus, only to be pick up and then hit the mat hard with a fall away slam. Sheamus immediately went for the cover only to have him kick out. 

 “ _One, Tw,”_ Michael counted _. “And Drew kicks out at one and half.”_  

 Sheamus sighed and got back to his feet. He grabbed Drew by the hair and pulled the big man back to his feet. As soon as Drew was back to a vertical position, he slapped Sheamus across the face hard, screaming at him as he went. 

  _'Who knew that Drew could channel his inner woman?'_ Rikki thought. She honestly didn't understand how grown men could turn into girls when their pride was hurt. 

 Drew ran toward the ropes, bounced off and tried to hit Sheamus with a hard clothesline. Sheamus anticipated his move and hit him with a running knee that halted Drew in mid air and sent him crashing hard to mat. 

 Sheamus looked down at Drew, who was gasping for breath, and then turned and looked towards Rikki and smiled. He grabbed Drew's foot and dragged him towards their corner and tagged her in. 

 The crowd roared as Rikki stepped through the ropes and looked down at Drew. She gave a quick falling elbow to his chest and stepped away as Drew tried to regain some breath back. She watched him with a keen eye before she leapt in air and nailed him with a drop kick. 

 “ _Impressive Drop Kick, Aspen seems to be knocking 3MB for a loop.”_ Michael exclaimed _._  

 She quickly grabbed Drew by the hair and lifted him up. Not wasting any time, she quickly locked him in an armlock. She gave Drew's arm a quick jerk and he yelled in pain. She did it again; Drew at this point was getting frustrated. Then Rikki pointed to the top turnbuckle. 

 “ _Oh My God! Aspen is truly her father's daughter. Is she going to do it? IS she really going to do it?!”_ Michael said, at this point bouncing in his seat. 

 With a huge grin, Rikki dragged Drew over to the far left corner and climbed the ropes to the top. Just like her dad, she walked across the ropes like she was walking on the ground. She turn towards Michael and gave a quick wink and grin. 

 “ _Oh My God, she is!”_ Michael yelled. At this point JBL and King were joining in. 

 Rikki bounced on the ropes and then flipped in the air, forcing Drew to follow her. In mid air, she wrapped her arms around his neck and fell to mat hard, knocking the wind out of both her and Drew. 

 “ _Old School, Old School! Aspen hit Old School as a tribute to her dad.”_ Michael said, his voice hoarse from yelling. 

 “ _Aspen calls it Old School Flip!”_ JBL corrected with pride. _“I know her Daddy will be proud!”_  

 When she finally got some air back into her lungs, Rikki quickly crawled across the ring and went for the cover on Drew. 

 “ _One, Two, Thr-”_ Michael exclaimed. _“And Drew McIntyre kicks out at two and half with authority.”_  

 And it _was_ with authority. Rikki was flung across the ring with such force that she tangled up in the far ropes. This was where didn't need to be. Drew managed to get his breath back and strode across the ring towards her. When she finally got to an upright position, her hair got grabbed. 

 Drew then dragged her to the centre of the ring, only to pick her up and slam her back down on the mat hard with a scoop slam. Rikki started coughing at the loss of oxygen. When she got to her knees, Drew hit her with a running knee. 

 She knew she wasn't going to last much longer so she began to crawl towards her corner to tag in Kofi. But her process was stopped by Drew who had grabbed her foot. Rikki hopped, trying desperately to reach Kofi, only to have Drew pull her back. Frustrated, Rikki gave Drew a glare and jumped up and hit Drew with Shooting Star. 

 She then ran and dove in mid-air and slammed her hand down on Kofi's before falling out of the ring and onto the floor to catch her breath. When her breath came back, Rikki quickly jumped back up onto the apron. 

 Rikki put her foot on the bottom rope as she watched the back and forth between Kofi and Drew until Drew stopped Kofi's momentum and tagged in Jinder. Then the back and forth started with them. But this wouldn't last long as Heath tagged himself in, unbeknownst to Kofi. 

 When Kofi realized that Heath tried a sneak attack, he upped his game. He caught Heath with a hard clothesline that was quickly followed by Boom-drop. That's when the match broke down. Jinder and Drew had discretely backed Kofi up into his corner which allowed Rikki to tag herself in and be the legal man without Jinder and Drew knowing. Then Sheamus and Rikki flew into the ring. 

 Sheamus on his own managed to deal with Jinder himself, having no problem throwing the unsuspecting big man out of the ring and onto the floor. That left Drew to both Kofi and Rikki. They traded kicks back and forth using Drew as pinata and together Drop kicked Drew out of the ring. 

 Heath was then left at the mercy of not only Rikki, but also Kofi and Sheamus as well. 

 “ _And now Slater is in a situation that he doesn't want to be in,”_ Michael said with a laugh _. “Slater is surrounded by Kofi, Sheamus and Aspen.”_  

 Heath put his hands up and tried to plead his case but it was to late. The minute he saw the grins that Sheamus, Kofi and Aspen threw his way, he knew his goose was well and truly cooked. And it didn't take long for them to start their attack. 

 Kofi struck first hitting Heath with the Trouble In Paradise. This was followed by Sheamus hitting a barely conscience Slater with White Noise. And that when Rikki went for the kill. Heath had no idea that Rikki had been the legal person. 

 Rikki looked at the crowd with a mischievous grin as she pointed to the top turnbuckle close to the stairs. She slid through the ropes and climbed to the top. She balanced herself on the buckle and then flew through the air. 

 She twisted and turned into a Corkscrew 450 Splash when she came down on top of Heath and then quickly sat on his chest and lifted his leg for the cover. 

 “ _Harlequinade! And she got it. One, Two Three!”_ Michael began to scream. _“And Aspen Wolf as won her first match on Monday Night Raw!”_  

 “ ** _And here are your winner: Kofi Kingston, Sheamus and Aspen Wolff!”_** Lillian exclaimed with a huge grin. 

 “ _Fellas, I expect some good things from Aspen, don't you think?”_ Michael asked. 

 “ _I'm excited. Aspen set out tonight to prove she was good enough to be here, and she did.”_ King excitedly squeaked. 

 “ _I know someone down in Death Valley who is very proud of this Little Girl right here.”_ JBL said with a grin. _“She did me proud too Michael. But Aspen has along way to go before she can get respect but she's onto a good start.”_  

 

 

/////////////////////////////////////// 

 

Rikki made it back-stage in record time only to find herself engulfed in a huge bear hug and swung around off her feet by her Uncle Hunter. She looked over his broad shoulder to see her Aunt Stephanie wipe a tear away. She was no sooner set back on her feet when she was engulfed in another hug. 

 The faint scent of Armani hit her nostrils and she felt the calming presents of her Pops. “I'm so proud of you baby girl. You did me proud.” Vince's deep voice hummed into her ear. 

 Rikki couldn't speak, the emotion of it all enveloped her in a tidal wave. Nikki walked over towards, and no words were exchanged. She just took her in her arms and gave her a hug. Nikki pulled back and gently wiped the tears out her eyes. 

 Through everything that Rikki had been through in her life, Nikki was always the person she could go to when her head space needed a recharge. It was in that moment that Rikki felt Nikki give her phone and gave her a mischievous wink that caused Rikki to roll her eyes at her. 

 When she looked down at her phone that Nikki handed her, she saw the text message. She looked up at Nikki who gave her a rude gesture that cause her to roll her eyes. Though that gesture wasn't to far off the point at what Rikki wanted to do to who had sent the message... 

 “ _Little Wolf, you make me proud everytime I see you. You fly like an eagle but you have the bite of a Wolf! Just know that bite is for me alone Darlin', I don't share! Slater best remember that.” - Dean_  

 Rikki felt a shiver run down her spine. Dean had absolutely no idea what he just started. If he was serious as both Nikki and Charlotte were saying he was, then he’d better be prepared. Because she was about to come out swinging, and she played for keeps. 

 

 


End file.
